


Watching Stars

by NaomiNori



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms, Bravely Second
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I guess it's a bit of comfort but meh?, I just love fluff, Sighs and sips my tea, Yewnolia - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 01:59:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13626177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaomiNori/pseuds/NaomiNori
Summary: Yew catches Magnolia wandering out of the tent in the middle of the night. He follows her to see if things are alright.





	Watching Stars

He woke up when he heard shuffling.

Yew blinks sleepily. Who was up at this hour? He clearly remembers everyone being exhausted by today's travels, so he didn't expect anyone to have the energy to wake up. Maybe it was Tiz. He's heard from Magnolia how the man often woke up in the middle of the night due to nightmares. If that was the case... maybe he could comfort him? Or at least give him someone to talk to. Yew sits up, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Had he left the tent already? Maybe he should...

His train of thought was interrupted when his sights fell on Tiz, sleeping soundly in his corner of the tent. The brunette stares at his sleeping form, before his gaze trails over to Edea's corner. She was sleeping as she usually does-- arms splayed out everywhere and covers strewn about. Yew groans softly at the sight before finally looking over to Magnolia's corner. Her covers were a bit ruffled, her spear lay close to where she slept, and she wasn't there.

Wait a minute.

_She wasn't there._

Yew stands to his feet, slightly panicked. Without thinking, he begins making his way to the tent's entrance. He carefully steps around Tiz and the various items strewn about before reaching the tent flap. He opens it slowly so there wouldn't be much noise, looking around frantically to see if he could see Magnolia from where he was standing. He spots the silver head of hair he's familiar with, before noting she was.. walking _really_ far from the tent. He takes a step forward to run after her, only to realize that he was still barefoot.

Curse it all!

Yew retreats into the tent, scrambling to put on his boots before he loses sight of Magnolia (although, with how far she was already, it was a given that he wouldn't see her when he left again). He glances at his rapier, propped up against one of the bags of potatoes they had bought back in Florem. He grabs it, moving carefully around Tiz and rushing out again. It was dangerous outside at night, and he _knows_ Magnolia knows that.  He knows she doesn't have any weapons on her, and yet she's still going out by herself? Worry rises in his stomach. What if she put herself in danger? What if she was _attacked_?!

"Magnolia!" He cries out, his fear now getting the best of him. "Magnolia? Where are you? Where'd you go?!"

"Yew?"

Yew's head snaps to the source of the voice. There Magnolia sat, on top of one of the many hills that was scattered across Florem's plains. He ignored the confused look she was giving him, instead running up to her with his weapon readied.

"Are you alright? Did anything hurt you?" He asks, looking around frantically. "Nothing came and attacked you, right?"

"Yew, I--"

"Did something happen? A nightmare? Sleepwalking?" He kneels besides her, putting his rapier down and grabbing her hand. "You can tell me if there's been any problems--"

"Yew, nothing happened. Everything is fine," Magnolia replies, putting her free hand over his mouth. " _I'm_ fine. I walked out on my own accord."

Yew blinks. He stares at her for a few more minutes before withdrawing slightly, eyes moving away from hers. This was... awkward, wasn't it? Here he had rushed out, blinded by panic and the fear that Magnolia was walking into some sort of danger, when in reality she was just sitting here, minding her business. That wasn't even considering the fact that she was a _warrior_ from the _moon_. Even if she was to get in trouble, no doubt she would be able to handle it on her own. Didn't she also mention having trouble falling asleep, as opposed to being startled awake by a nightmare?

Yew flushes, now sitting. He had mad a lot of assumptions, hadn't he?

"Well... why?" He asks, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Is the tent too stuffy?"

" _Non, pas du tout_ ," Magnolia replies, her sights moving away from Yew and towards the sky. "When I have trouble falling asleep, I usually leave the tent. I've woken up Tiz before, but never you."

"Right..." He rubs the back of his head. Of course.

There was silence. Yew frowns to himself, stealing a glance at Magnolia. What was she thinking right now? Did she think he had acted too impulsively?

"I'm a bit confused, though. Why did you run out with your rapier?" Magnolia asks, pointing to the blade. "You're currently a Wizard, aren't you? Wouldn't a rod be more appropriate?"

Magnolia's question snaps him out of his thoughts. He looks to the rapier, the late realization dawning on him. How embarrassing was this? Yew chuckles sheepishly, now playing with his hands.

"Well, I thought you could be in danger. I wasn't thinking clearly," he explains, the blush on his cheeks growing hotter. "Going out by yourself at night isn't really the safest, and I've been using that sword for years... it was by instinct that I picked it up."

"Really?" Magnolia smiles sweetly, face illuminated by moonlight. "That's so charming..."

Yew flushes yet again. He chuckles nervously, his eyes now turning away from Magnolia. He could feel her gaze on him but thankfully it wasn't for long. The woman's sights were set on the sky before long, leaving the two to sit in silence. Which was fine. Yew found that his heart was pounding too much to concentrate on any form of conversation. A few times he had peeked at the woman from the corner of his eyes, but lost his nerve to actually say something and instead continued to look off to the side. He was lucky it was a full moon tonight, otherwise he'd just be staring off into darkness. At least right now, he could examine how the grass swayed gently, or how the light bounced off the blades...

"....I came out here to stargaze."

Yew is pulled out of his thoughts yet again, turning his sights to Magnolia. It was only now that he noticed how the moonlight outlined her figure, how her hair gleamed under it and her eyes sparkled. It bounced off her skin in a way that almost made her appear ethereal, as if he was looking at a spirit rather than another human being. Sometimes he swore that Magnolia was really something greater than she led on, and in this moment, he'd fully believe it.

His heart skips a beat.

"I used to do it on the moon, too," Magnolia continues, her sights still set on the sky. "Some nights, I would sit outside and watch the stars. Sometimes it was with friends, sometimes it was with family.... I always enjoyed it very much..."

Her friends and family, huh...? Yew sits up straighter, carefully watching Magnolia's expression. At first glance, she looked like she always did. Preoccupied with thoughts, carefully surveying the area around them and taking mental note of the things around them. But as he looked closer, he noticed her eyes held a certain sadness to them. He can't help but note that he's never seen that particular expression on her face before. It was... somber. Very unlike the cheerful and playful woman he's used to.

"I used to watch Luxendarc, too." A chuckle. "I knew we protected you, but I always wanted to see what the planet was like. I wanted to know how anything could survive on it, when it looked so... full and crowded with things." Another chuckle. "I didn't realize that it was us, rather than you, that were amazing for surviving."

Yew watches as Magnolia brings her knees to her chest, his expression softening. Had she been doing this for a while? It would make sense. The Ba'al attack happened out of nowhere, and from his understanding, it wasn't long after that she was sent to Luxendarc. She probably didn't even have time to say goodbye.

"Are you... homesick?"

The woman blinks, turning her head to Yew. She seems to deliberate on her answer a little before nodding with a small, "yes." Yew hums in acknowledgement, moving so that he could be closer to Magnolia.

"You must think about it a lot..." He mumbles.

"I do," she replies, her knees still hugged to her chest. Her sights return upwards. "I miss my friends.... my family....my home..."

Yew frowns. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I still have the President." Magnolia offers him a smile. "And a few others I call friends. I'm not completely alone up there."

Yew nods, now looking up at the sky as she was. He never really thought about the people Magnolia knew on the moon. In fact... he didn't think much about the moon at all. He hardly knew anything about it or anything about _her_. The boy frowns to himself. Here Magnolia was, always making sure to know about their customs and cultures, and yet he never thought about asking her things in kind!

"...What's it like?"

"The moon?"

"Yeah."

There was a bit of silence as she thought. Yew shifts even closer, but only by a small margin.

"It's nothing like Luxendarc. It's... barren. It doesn't have a lot of the wonders this world has." Her smile grows. "There are a few patches of green, and a few pools of water, but those were artificially made.... there's also a few trees, and animals, and flowers...."

The mention of flowers has Yew's entire face turn red. He quickly turns his sights away, scratching the back of his head. Every time he was reminded of that dreaded incident in Eisenberg, he felt like the biggest idiot there was! How stupid could he have been to not question Magnolia's reaction to him when they first met? How foolish could he have been to not notice the way she seemed to smile coyly and blush around him, the way she became jealous when other women took interest in him, all the subtle ways she expressed her affections? It was so obvious in hindsight that Magnolia had harbored feelings for him, and yet he stumbled around like a blockhead none the wiser!

"S-sorry..." He mumbles again. "I'm sorry for that."

"...What for?" Magnolia giggles, and he could feel her gently rub his back. "Are you still thinking about Eisenberg? I told you, it's okay."

"I just... I feel like a fool when I remember." He admits. "It was so obvious you had misunderstood, if I had just said something--"

"It's fine, Yew." Magnolia pats his back before withdrawing her hand. "After that incident, I realized... my feelings were a bit irrational, _non?_ I was emotional, and assumed something I shouldn't have. I can't apologize enough."

Something in Yew's stomach twists. He was happy they could resolve the misunderstanding, even happier that Magnolia held no animosity towards him for it. But the way she spoke, so quiet and meek, it made him feel... bad. Worse than he'd normally feel, in fact. Yes, he didn't mean to propose to her that night, and he'd love for her to move on from it without any pain, but he can't help but feel... strange whenever he thought about it. He knew it wasn't guilt, so what was it? It wasn't like he had feelings for Magnolia, right?

The thought causes his heart to skip another beat.

"But aside from that, I've always loved flowers. Before I knew what they meant in my culture, I've always found them beautiful. Back on the moon, I wanted to grow a whole garden."

Yew slowly looks back to Magnolia. Her fingers gently brushed against her namesakes’ petals, her expression soft. "I knew I couldn't, but my mother always told me that Luxendarc was a different story. It was another reason I've always wanted to come here. I wanted to plant one seed, and fill the entire world with flowers."

Magnolia giggles again, brushing some hair out of her face. "I didn't know that flowers were already common. When I first found out, I was so excited! They were common enough to sell! And here in Florem, there's so many of them! If I could take them home with me, I would! I'd love to share such a wonderful thing with everyone back on the moon!"

She laughs, but it sounded different from normal. Usually, her laughter sounded light and airy. There was always a playful teasing quality to it, something that made it so he couldn't stay mad at her for long when she giggled at his expense. But right now she sounded... nervous. She drummed her fingers on the ground, eyes flitting to him before looking to the grass in front of them. He tilts his head, leaning forward to try and catch her gaze. Had she always looked this anxious...?

"...I hope I haven't bored you with my talking, Yew."

Bored? Did she think he was bored?! Was that it?

"N-Not at all!" The boy sits up straighter, one hand clenched in a fist. "In fact, I'm happy you've told me all of this!"

" _Vraiment?_ " She looked genuinely surprised. "Why is that?"

"Because.... w-well..." He sighs, knowing that his cheeks were already red. "I've... I've never actually... heard you pour your feelings out like that. The closest I got I think, was around the time when we first met. I feel like... I don't really know much about you or how you feel about certain things."

Yew relaxes, unclenching his fist to rest it on the hilt of his rapier. "I feel like you're... you're always trying to put on your brightest smile for us. And you look wonderfully radiant when you do, I always feel my spirits lifted when I see you. It's just... it's as if you're always hiding parts of yourself from us. N-not to say you're being dishonest! But.. I... I like learning about you. I want to.. get to know you better."

Now it was Magnolia's turn to blush. She stares at Yew for a moment before losing her nerve and turning away. Yew continues, leaning even closer.

"Magnolia... I know you already said it was alright... but I still find myself getting nervous about these types of things. I just... want to make sure everything is okay." He looks down at her hands, and noted how one was nearly touching his. "We're... okay, right?"

"Yes." Her answer is almost immediate. Yew smiles.

"Right... and I want you to know you can still rely on me. You can still talk to me about anything. Including... your feelings towards me."

She was quiet. Yew's heart pounded in anticipation. Was that... too much? Did he say too much?

"...Thank you, Yew..." Her voice is quiet. "That makes me happy."

Yew feels her hand slide over his. He stiffens, his eyes snapping back to Magnolia's face. She was still looking away, but there was no mistaking the flush on her cheeks. She smiles and closes her eyes, moving closer to Yew in order to lean against him. The younger boy's cheeks burn, whether it was embarrassment or something else, he didn't know. It wasn't as if he actually minded, it was just... unexpected. It's not like Magnolia was averse to contact, in fact it was quite the opposite. She loved showing little signs of affection, such as hugging or holding hands, but right now it felt.... different. Instead of just being something she did, this time it felt.... warm.

He liked it.

Yew leans on her in turn, head gently resting against hers. He takes her hand in his, moving it out from underneath them and (with a bit of hesitation) letting it rest on his lap along with his. Magnolia giggles at the gesture.

"Yew...? I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Do you mind... if we do this again sometime?"

"Do what? Talk?"

"Yes, and... watch the stars. Just the two of us."

He could hear the smile in her voice. This time, Yew was the one to chuckle.

"I'd love to."


End file.
